Materials Prepared by Kathleen L. Daerr-Bannon Presented by Carol L. Schlein Newark NJ February 22,...
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VI. YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE: CREATIVE USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND FIRM WEBSITE Materials Prepared by Kathleen L. Daerr-Bannon Presented by Carol L. Schlein Newark NJ February 22, 2013
Materials Prepared by Kathleen L. Daerr-Bannon Presented by Carol L. Schlein Newark NJ February 22, 2013
Materials Prepared by Kathleen L. Daerr-Bannon Presented by
Carol L. Schlein Newark NJ February 22, 2013
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Carol L. Schlein, Esq. President, Law Office Systems, Inc.
[email protected] www.losinc.com Montclair NJ Founding Member
Lawtopia LLC www.lawtopia.net National partnership of legal
technology consultants Former chair Computer Division, ABA Law
Practice Management Section Former columnist, New Jersey Law
Journal
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Successful attorneys use and obtain clients from maintaining an
online presence
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Lawyers Use of Social Media ONE SURVEY INDICATES: LINKEDIN 83%
FACEBOOK 68% PLAXO 18% TWITTER 1.9% BLOGS 14%
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In the future, lawyers realize that they must at least have a
presence on LinkedIn and Facebook
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Technology is moving faster than the ethics rules Be aware that
there are areas that the ABA and NJSBA have not fully covered or
are not aware of, so you have to be careful RPC 7.1-7.5
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A. YOUR FIRM WEBSITE 1. Complying with the Model Rules Rule
1.18 Duties to Prospective Client Whether communications, including
written, oral or electronic communications, constitute a
consultation depends on the circumstances. Rule 7.3 Regarding
Solicitation Not clearly covered under solicitation is
communication directed toward the general public, such as websites,
internet banner advertisements, a request for information, and what
is automatically generated in response to internet searches.
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RPC 7.1. Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Service Domain
Name and content cant be misleading Many states forbid use of.Org
or.Gov unless nonprofit Opinion 39 in New Jersey RPC 7.1(a)(3)
prohibits comparative ads RPC 7.1(a)(2)prohibits ads creating
unjustified expectation about results
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Email Marketing Campaigns RPC 7.3 Personal Contact with
Prospective Clients Unsolicited email campaigns may violate 7.3(b)
if continued after no response. Make sure you have an unsubscribe
option Press releases and general announcements are acceptable
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Some General Guidelines No misleading information Update and
keep all information current Do not create unreasonable
expectations Carefully manage inquiries invited through the website
Know current state practices and ethics opinions particularly in
this recent developing area Use of stock photos Archiving website
material Testimonials and case histories
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Showcasing Achievements Ethically promoting ratings and
rankings Can not state or imply special competence or unique
affiliations unless true No pictures of judges
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Best Practice Guidelines for Legal Information Web Site
Providers ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 ELawyering Task Force ABA
Law Practice Management Section ABA Standing Committee on The
Delivery of Legal Services
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What do the latest ABA changes mean for marketing your law firm
online? See Blog Post by Kelly Ament, September 12, 2012 Whether
communications, including written, oral or electronic
communications, constitute a consultation depends on the
circumstances.
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Recent ABA Ethics Opinion on Websites Formal Opinion 10-457
Lawyer postings subject to prohibitions against making false or
misleading statements Confidentiality of client information
Conflicts of interest
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ABA Changes to Model Rules and Marketing Online Model Rule
1.18: Duties to Prospective Client Reworded because the first
contact with a would-be client can occur in many ways other than a
face-to-face meeting.
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Model Rule7.2: Advertising Clarifies when the prohibition
against paying for a recommendation is triggered in an era of new
methods such as pay per click advertising
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Model Rule 7.3: Solicitation of Clients Solicitation A targeted
communication initiated by the lawyer that is directed to a
specific person and that offers to provide, or can reasonably be
understood as offering to provide, legal services.
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Additional Ethical Issues 7.1 Misleading or not updating 7.3
Need for disclaimers 1.6 Client confidentiality 7.2, 7.3,7.4, ABA
Formal Opinion 10-457: Advertising and Solicitation 5.5 and 1.18;
ABA Formal Opinion 10-457: Inadvertent Attorney-Client
Relationship
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2. Your Firm Website: Planning the Content, Name and Location
Select a Domain Must be ICANN Approved Approved Registrars include
Network Solutions Godaddy.com Register. com Beware of Free Domains
Read the fine print It may mean you lose the domain if you change
hosts or host goes out of business
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Tips for Domain Name Keep it SHORT and CLEAR Use established
business name or variation Use.COM (.ORG for non-profit) Use tools
on registrars website Plan long term Register related top level
domains
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3. The Dos and Emphatic Donts of Website Style Well written
useful content is the core to a good site Users have shifted from
communication to reading content Think about your audience(s)
Primary Secondary Unintended
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Websites Dos and Donts Organize Keep it Brief Keep it Current
Make It Dynamic Edit and Proofread
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4. Functionality How Much Upkeep Would You Like? Outdated
Content, Broken Links, Missing Images or Incorrect Contact Info can
be harmful
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Website Maintenance Visit your site regularly Fix broken links
Establish links with reliable sites Monitor traffic statistics
Promote your domain on cards, email signature Get feedback and
criticism from clients
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5. Site Maintenance and Upgrades Make it easy to maintain
Choose a site platform that is easy to use Add new content
regularly Keep it up to date Make it timeless
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6. Dont Do it Yourself! Tips for Web Site Designer Shopping How
to Select a Website Designer (Faulkner, LLRX.COM) Law firm specific
v. general company Platform proprietary v. open
7.Where and How to Promote Your Site Social Media Channels
LinkedIn MyLegal.com Twitter Blogs Facebook Google+ YouTube Vimeo
Q&A sites (Wikipedia/ Yahoo/ Ask)
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Legal Links and Directories Lawyers.com and Martindale.com
Superlawyers Best Lawyers Numerous Other Sites That Link To and/or
Provide Information About Law Firms Legal and Professional
Directories Letterhead, Business Cards and Email Signature
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Chat Rooms, Blogs and Discussion Groups Beware of Solicitation,
Advertising and Inadvertent Client Relationship
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Search Engine Optimization High Quality Links Current Content
Monitor Traffic Know the rules Know the rules will change
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Blogs (Blawgs) To blog or not to blog, that is the question
Blog on your website or on hosted site Wordpress Blogger
Typepad
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B. Social Media Practices The Good, the Bad, and the Outrageous
Seduced: For lawyers, the appeal of social media is obvious But it
is also dangerous
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1. Rule #1 Do No Harm! Setting Clear Goals for Your Online
Presence
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2. Which Social Media to Choose ROI Analysis Use your time and
money wisely Make sure it fits with your firm branding Choose a
channel you can stick with Know where your clients are Social
networking sites for lawyers http://thelawcoach.blogspot.com
(Burdge the Law Coach) http://thelawcoach.blogspot.com
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Commonly Used Social Media Sites for Lawyers Facebook Personal
and Business Page LinkedIn Twitter Martindale.com/join.Aspx
Legalonramp Lawlink
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When Lawyers like Facebook: Using the Site to Attract and
Maintain Clients Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers By Dennis Kennedy
& Allison Shields (ABA Law Practice Management Section)
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Facebook Tips Facebook is the most used social media site You
need to be there if your targeted audience is there Use both
personal and professional space Separate business from personal
Recognize that everything on Facebook is on the web Understand and
use Facebooks privacy and account settings
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3. Creating a Firm Profile What Information to Include?
Information about you and your firm should be Current Accurate Not
misleading
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4. Protecting Confidentiality of Firms Clients RPC 1.6 (a) A
lawyer shall not reveal information relating to representation of a
client unless the client consents Be careful with testimonials and
posting client-related information online
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5. Tips for Separating Your Personal and Professional Online
Presence Maintain separate professional and personal identities on
social media Be aware your conduct on personal pages may subject
you to ethical rules on advertising, providing legal advice and
confidentiality Consider if you are promoting your services as a
attorney (subject to rules pertaining to advertising) Could you be
perceived as giving legal advice and creating an attorney-client
relationship? Whatever you put on the web may not remain private
and may be there forever
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C. Five things you cannot, under any circumstances, do or say
online 1. No false or misleading content 2. No unreasonable
expectations 3. Do not breach confidentiality 4. Do not run afoul
of ethics rules on social media 5. Do not mistake unethical
expressions as protected speech